Friday 28 March 2014

Spy Kids (2001)



This is pretty much my favourite Robert Rodriguez film to date. It's just so infectiously fun, with a great adult cast delivering pitch perfect performances for the film (not necessarily 'great acting' in the award-winning sense, but absolutely right for the characters they're playing). Of course, any film with child actors in lead roles is going to sink or swim on the strength of those munchkins. Fortunately, Rodriguez picked well: his leads are likeable and natural on screen, and have both gone on to solid acting careers as they move into adulthood.

The plot: Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez are seemingly ordinary parents who secretly happen to be former spies. When old colleagues go missing, they emerge from retirement to investigate. When they then go missing, and their kids discover the truth about their 'boring' family, it is up to the next generation to step up and save the world from the frankly rather bizarre threat looming over it.

This is a wacky, silly, goofy movie. It's also refreshingly straightforward about it. It fires off jokes of varying levels of maturity with enthusiastic abandon. There's slapstick, poop jokes, puns, sight gags, and a whole lot more. There's also a whole lot of people who just seems to be having a really good time making a movie, and I frankly had a really good time watching them.

Definitely recommended for when you're in the mood for some lighter fare.

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